The present invention relates to crate loading apparatus and particularly to a gripping head arrangement for loading packages into a crate.
In the liquid packaging industry, a great variety of packing crates already exist which provide the capability of securely packing liquid containers for transport. However, a significant number of the existing crates are designed for packing gable top packages such as "PURE PAK" packages and "TETRA REX" packages and not necessarily for rectangular box-shaped packages such as "TETRA BRIK" packages. Consequently, difficulty is sometimes encountered in easily and practically loading such rectangular box-shaped (parallelepiped) packages into existing packing crates. However, since it is not necessarily feasible or economical to develop a crate specifically designed for rectangular box-shaped (parallelepiped) packages, there is a desire and need to continue to use the already existing packing crates for packing the rectangular box-shaped packages.
Currently, packages are loaded into existing crates by a loading apparatus that uses guide plates to direct the packages into proper loading positions. In order to achieve proper loading of an entire crate, however, the guide plates must rise as each layer of packages is gathered into the crate. In addition, the guide plates tend to have a somewhat fragile design and thus are easily deformed or destroyed against the edges of the crates during use. Consequently, the crate packing machine is required to have a greater height than would otherwise be required. In addition, an operator must give added attention and care to avoid damage to or destruction of the guide plates which may cause unacceptable downtime of the crate packing machine.